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Wu, C., Sercu, B., Van de Werfhorst, L., Wong, J., DeSantis, T., Brodie, E., Hazen, T., Holden, P. and Andersen, G. (2010) Characterization of Coastal Urban Watershed Bacterial Communities Leads to Alternative Community-Based Indicators. PLoS ONE, 5, e11285.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0011285

has been cited by the following article:

• TITLE: Expanding the Indicator Bacteria Concept: A Novel Approach to Assess Ecosystem Risk in Impaired Waters

  AUTHORS: Nicholas Carrara, Katharine Settell, Blake Andrews, David W. Buckalew, Wade A. Znosko

  KEYWORDS: Impaired Waters, FIB, Aquatic Survivorship and Development

  JOURNAL NAME: Journal of Water Resource and Protection, Vol.7 No.12, August 27, 2015

  ABSTRACT: Many studies report the relationship between coliform indicator bacteria levels and the overall quality of environmental water for public use. This study, an outgrowth of a long-term water-monitoring program within the upper Appomattox River (Virginia) watershed, employs a zebrafish model to examine the relationship between impaired stream water and aquatic vertebrate development. We report results that suggest an expansion of the indicator bacteria concept, showing a possible relationship between waters containing high levels of the indicator bacterium, Escherichia coli (E. coli), with developmental defects upon zebrafish embryos. These effects are not directly attributable to bacterial presence, as filtered test waters void of bacteria produce the same results in embryos, indicating these developmental defects are due to the presence of other toxins or contaminants. Fish embryos exposed to the test waters show reduced survivorship and altered brain and heart development. Furthermore, fish surviving to adulthood exhibit altered gonads and skewed sex ratios. We suggest that this broadly focused approach examining the complex interactions (biotic and abiotic) within raw water sources could be used in conjunction with traditional chemical assays and/or dose-response studies on vertebrate models for a more complete analysis of stream water quality conditions.